Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Creating a Table Using the Keyboard.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 2, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
If you want a quick way to create a table without taking your hands off the keyboard, try this:
That's it. A single step, and you have a quick and simple table. Of course, it is only a single-row table, but it is a starting point for your table. You can also create the table by using the vertical bar instead of plus signs.
If you want the columns of your table to be wider, simply separate the plus signs or vertical bars with dashes. For instance, you could type a plus sign, ten dashes, another plus sign, and press Enter, and you would have a table with a wider column.
If this tip does not work on your system, there are two possible reasons. In some of the latest versions of Word, you need to place at least one space between each plus sign or each vertical bar. If you try this and the tip still doesn't work, you may have the feature turned off. To make sure the feature is enabled, follow these steps:
Figure 1. The AutoFormat As You Type tab of the AutoCorrect dialog box.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (872) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Creating a Table Using the Keyboard.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here:
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